IED

An improvised explosive device, more commonly known as an IED, is a bomb that is crafted using a set of everyday materials, making it very common for insurgencies. The Iraq War and Afghanistan War saw the Iraqi insurgents and Taliban use IEDs to attack Coalition forces, and they were a major fear of US troops.

History
IEDs were first used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during The Troubles in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, and the British Army coined the term. The PIRA smuggled fertilizer and semtex from Libya, making bombs themselves rather than importing ordinance. IEDs were therefore very commonly used by terrorists and insurgents, as they could make the bombs out of odds and ends rather than having to purchase military-grade explosives. During the Iraq War and Afghanistan War, IEDs were typically hidden in places such as plastic bottles, wrappers, or buried under dirt, sand, or rocks. Bomb squads were used by the US Army to defuse IEDs, which were a real danger to US troops.